Old Circuit box questions
I recently bought a house from a relative and the circuit box seems to be the original from the 60's. I know I need to upgrade and initially thought it was 60 amp service and I would go up to 100 amp. However, I have recently been told that my circuit box is a 'dual bus', because the top 4 spaces on both columns are marked "Main Disconnect", meaning I would have to turn them all off to fully disconnect power, not just the 60 amp breaker.
If I add all the breakers up, there is 185 amps, comprised of 60 amp, 30 amp (ac), tandem 20 amps, 20 amp, 20 amp, 15 amp. If the 185 amp total is correct, then do I really need to upgrade to a higher amperage, or just get a new 200 amp service box and that would do it?
The supply wires are stranded aluminum and appear to be just under 1/2" diameter, but I don't know what gauge exactly that would be.